Julia Cooke What image comes to mind when you think of an airline stewardess from the 1960s or 70s? Maybe it s a conventionally beautiful woman in a trim uniform, smiling as she serves coffee to men in suits. While this certainly was part of the job, the stewardesses working for Pan American World Airways were, in fact, breaking ground for other women flight attendants of the future. The coveted job with the exclusively international American airline afforded women financial independence and freedom to travel. It also came with considerable danger, as planes flew in and out of war zones, not to mention blatantly sexist regulations regarding female employees age, appearance and marital status.
Industry veteran and author Jennifer Coutts Clay has seen the aviation industry overcome several black swan events in her more than 40 years working in the airline industry.
She began her aviation career with British Airways in the 1970s and became head of operations and sales for the Western USA in 1979, as the first woman to hold the position. In 1984, Coutts Clay became controller of corporate identity, responsible for the implementation of British Airways’ US$75 million privatization program. After joining Pan American World Airways in 1986, as general manager, product design & development, Coutts Clay completed a three-year, US$25 million fleet upgrade program redesigning the Pan Am passenger service product. After founding J. Clay Consulting in the 1990s, Coutts Clay worked with short-haul and long-haul airlines, aviation suppliers, legal firms, and design specialists. At United Express, she joined the team handling the Canadian Regional Jet introduction into commercial serv
The Pan Am flight attendant and the CIA man who fell in love on an airplane
In September 1970 Jocelyne Nowaski was working as chief flight attendant on a Pan American World Airways flight from Paris to New York when her life changed forever.
In her two years at Pan Am the 23-year-old had made friends across the globe, served celebrities including Beatle Ringo Starr and featured with her coworkers in the pages of Paris Match magazine.
Pan Am layovers were spent exploring Morocco, on safaris in Nairobi, galloping on horseback on the beaches of Barbados, swimming in Liberia, and browsing the jewelry stalls of Beirut.
The flight attendant who fell in love on an airplane
In September 1970 Jocelyne Nowaski was working as chief flight attendant on a Pan American World Airways flight from Paris to New York when her life changed forever.
In her two years at Pan Am the 23-year-old had made friends across the globe, served celebrities including Beatle Ringo Starr and featured with her coworkers in the pages of Paris Match magazine.
Pan Am layovers were spent exploring Morocco, on safaris in Nairobi, galloping on horseback on the beaches of Barbados, swimming in Liberia, and browsing the jewelry stalls of Beirut.
As she recalls it, her career happened almost by accident. Jocelyne had majored in biology at New York City’s College of Mount St. Vincent, intending to become a doctor.